1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns reactor vessel structure in general. More specifically, it relates to an improved quench ring and dip tube assembly for application to a reactor vessel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In processes for gasifying coal or coke, it has been found that large quantities of molten slag are produced. Such slag must be removed from the generator vessel which operates at high pressures. The usual manner of removing the slag thus produced has entailed the division of a reactor into two sections. The top section is a refractory lined reaction section, while the bottom section is a water filled quench chamber. The molten slag is allowed to drop into the water whereupon it solidifies, and the solid particles of slag are then removed from the bottom section using a lock hopper system. The generator floor between the top and bottom sections must be cooled, and this has been accomplished using a quench ring that is bolted to the bottom of the floor and through which water is circulated. Furthermore, it has been found beneficial to include a so-called dip tube which carries the slag into the quench chamber with the gas that is leaving the generator and which then flows through the quench bath while the slag is solidified therein.
Arrangements of the sort indicated above are shown in prior patents e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,326 to Eastman et al, Dec. 31, 1957 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,927 Nagel et al, July 28, 1959. However, the quench ring and dip tube structures employed by those patents have made use of a structure which has a narrow annular opening around the edges of the quench ring for directing a stream of cooling water onto the inside of the dip tube. With that arrangement it was very difficult to maintain the dimensional accuracy and stability required, so that when some of the opening for directing the cooling water onto dip tube become clogged, the cooling of the dip tube would be uneven, and warping with consequent damage tended to result. Also, the prior dip tube and quench rings were constructed as a single integral unit and this was costly to manufacture.
Consequently it is an object of this invention to provide an improved quench ring and dip tube assembly that is more reliable in action and easier to construct.